Tales of an Adventurous Duo
by TheBlondRoleplayer
Summary: A mercenary travels to a mining town plagued by the effects of a recently uncovered gem of unknown origin. There he meets the town's local crystal appraiser with a keen interest in the mysterious rock, who then proceeds to hire him as an escort into the dark below. Follow our characters as they uncover the truth of what lies beneath the surface of the murky swamp, and perhaps more.


**Hello, and thank you for showing an interest in our story. The following is a roleplay between a friend and I that we started some time ago, and with a little nudging I persuaded her to let me share it with others, as I really enjoy it and believe others would as well. As such, the chapters will be relatively short and consist of a reply from each of us, I being "Partner #1" and my friend being "Partner #2", respectively. Updates will be frequent, the speed of which likely depending on whether anyone is actually interested in it or not, but you can expect at least one or two a week. If you enjoy our story, please feel free to review to let us know what you think, or simply give us a follow to join our characters in their grand adventure. Anyways, enjoy!**

Partner #1

The stench filled his nostrils. Maverick trudged along through the mud, each step a slow one as the terrain tried to suck his boots down into the mixture of decaying vegetation and muck that made up the surface of Deadman's Swamp. The squelching noises of each footfall never seemed to cease as he headed toward the town located deep within the foul land, a miserable place that only the most desperate people would choose to live in. Of course, he was heading there for work himself, so he couldn't really talk about others being desperate. Nonetheless, the town was anything but poor, being a large exporter of magical crystals mined from beneath the surface that served as powerful foci for spells, enchantments and charms of all kinds, making them very valuable to anyone in the field of magic.

He wasn't planning on mining for crystals, but to take the various bounties on offer instead. He was a monster hunter, and he specialized in swinging his spear and shield instead of a pickaxe. There had apparently been an incident in an excavation site nearby that had forced them to halt their work and had led to them spreading the news that they had jobs for those who killed for a living, attracting him in the process. His coin purse had been depressingly light as of late, and he had to get busy hunting if he planned on eating in the next few days.

The ground eventually smoothed out and held him back less, and he realized that he was approaching the outskirts of the town. His mood brightened up considerably at the sight of the torches hanging along the guardposts and he picked up his pace, arriving in town a couple minutes later. The general ambiance of the place was quiet, somber, even. Every person he passed had a sour look on their face and simply glowered at him as he passed by. Truly a friendly environment. He picked out a tavern in the distance and headed toward it, hoping to get some relief from the smell and general gloom of the place with a few drinks.

Stepping inside, he scanned the booths, tables and bar to see what sort of patrons occupied the place. There were humans and orcs scattered about the building and one Kat, a feline species that usually resided in dry, arid climates and that was covered in light fur. That one caught him by surprise, not having expected to see one here of all places, and after deciding that there were no immediate threats he headed to the bar and took a seat on a stool, hailing the bartender with a wave, "One ale, please."

The burly man nodded and filled a mug, taking the offered silver coin from him before handing over the beverage. He studied the tall blond for a moment and quirked an eyebrow, "You new to these parts? Don't think I've seen you around here before."

Maverick took a few pulls from the drink before answering, "Yeah, just got here, actually. I heard that you guys had a pest problem that needed to be taken care of and thought that I could help."

"I guess you could call it that." He replied, chuckling. "The local militia keeps most of the creepy crawlies at bay, as they should, for all that they tax us, but there have been a whole other slew of beasts that have shown up after they uncovered that blasted gem."

That caught his interest, "Gem? Is it connected to what happened here?"

"Aye. About two weeks ago there was a large digging expedition into a new plot of land and they uncovered a crystal unlike anything they've ever seen. Big, green and glowing. It didn't take a genius to know that it was nothing but trouble, and trouble it was. Soon afterwards, there were reports of members of the mining party going mad and killing each other, with those that survived getting snatched up by the beasts that seemed to be attracted by its evil aura. We only know what happened because one fella was able to run for his life and tell us the tale, though he hasn't so much as uttered a word since. It's unnerving knowing that such a thing is out there, causing who-knows-what to happen. Mining has slowed to a crawl and the mayor set those bounties up in the hopes of getting folks like you to clear up the lot. I suppose it's working."

Maverick nodded, storing the information for later, "Sounds like there's plenty of coin to be made. Know where I can go about finding these bounties?"

He pointed to the back of the building, "There's a board back there with the posters. They're updated once every few days."

His blue eyes shifted over to the bulletin board and he grabbed his mug before heading over to see what they had to offer.

Partner #2

The village was normally a bustle. After all, this small town was one of the regions largest producers of catalyst crystals. Almost everyone who lived here had their hands on the market in one way or another. Honestly there wasn't much else to do. But recently things had slowed down to a glacial pace. There had been some commotion in the mines. Uncovering something this town had never seen the likes of before. However it seemed to be bad news. People were losing their minds over it, quite literally, and it had Farah's interest piqued.

Farah wasn't much of a socialite. In fact this tiny town suited her fancy just fine. Not many people bothered to bother her. She was the town's sole appraiser so they came in, learned what their haul was worth and either sold to her or try there hand elsewhere. What she bought she sorted to sell off to the next collector to come into town for the big artifact companies in the cities. There were a few shops scattered about that actually made weaponry and the likes with crystals, but for the most part they town exported its goods.

Now that mining had essentially come to a standstill the woman had a lot of time to burn. No new product meant she didn't have anything to classify. After all crystals came in all sorts of varieties and strains. Studying and experimenting with curious forms was how she generally passed her idle time. Without that her mind was left to wander and unfortunately it kept wandering back to the mysterious gem in the mines. She wanted to see it, but no one was willing to go back in after the atrocities that had occurred, let alone lead her there. And while she had skills with magic, she wasn't confident she could do much on her own if confronted by the things that went bump in the night. It often took a physical touch to be truly effective. Her small stature gave her dexterity and agility, but she lacked the power to back up any hits she landed.

Attempting to alleviate her boredom with books in her quiet home only worked so long. She found it couldn't hold her attention back from the curiosity that filled her. The woman wanted to know what was lying in the depth of those mines. Before she knew it, she was drawing up a notice calling for a mercenary. They came to town every once in a while, perhaps they would be brave, or stupid, enough to take her down there. With all the details she was willing to write down on the page and a hefty sum as reward, it instructed potential hires to contact her for more information. She only half expected for anyone to get ahold of her, but she had hope.

Farah left her home making her way for the posting board. The people she passed sent her warm hellos. The onyx-eyed woman politely returned the greetings, but no more. No one ever seemed too upset about it and for this she was glad. It wasn't that she particularly disliked the people here; she just found small talk unbearable. Luckily they seemed to understand, although she wasn't certain they would be half as forgiving if she wasn't so useful as an appraiser.

Arriving at the tavern it was busier than usual with the populace taking a break from work. With the board came into sight, she was surprised to see an unfamiliar face standing before it. A tall blond man that looked as though he might be worth his mettle. Silently, she came up next to him and added her request to the lower half of the panel.

Taking a step back, she pushed back her spectacles. The frames shifted on her long pointed ears. A feature covered by her chin length wavy hair. The unruly red mop framed her face handsomely, so it was a win-win for her.

Having completed the task at hand, Farah turned on her heel and headed back to the door. The hem of her dress swayed behind her all the way. Perhaps that stranger would be interested, but she wasn't willing to ask him directly. Not to mention she also needed some time to figure out a way to test or question anyone who came to her looking to help. Picking up just anyone probably wasn't smart. After all she did want to survive this adventure.


End file.
